Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda And Art

Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda And Art

Opening in April 2010, Magnificent Maps showcases the
British Library's unique collection of large-scale display maps, many of which have never been exhibited before. Here the show's curators focus on some of the show's highlights – and explain why maps are about far more than geography

Wednesday 27 January 2010 04.41 EST
First published on Wednesday 27 January 2010 04.41 EST

Propaganda maps, as with political cartoons, do not always fulfil their purposes by subtle means. This Nazi poster, produced in France in 1944, portrays Churchill as a demonic, cigar-smoking octopus, whose attempts to seize Africa and the Middle East are being thwarted by the Axis forces that cut his tentacles so that they bleed profusely. The use of the octopus in political comic-maps dates back to the 19th century, for the creature could be well equated with offensive, land-grabbing states. The survival of such posters is extremely rare as despite being mass produced for a large audience, they were rapidly discarded and destroyedPhotograph: The British Library

This copperplate engraving is regarded as one of the most artistically accomplished maps ever to have been produced, and it exists in just two examples. Its subject of the Americas allows the Spanish Empire to be shown in all its New World glory, for the particular approval of the Spanish King Philip II. In addition to the myriad sea monsters, animals and attributes of empire, the King is shown in the guise of Neptune, borne aloft upon the turbulent Atlantic watersPhotograph: The British Library

This compendious hand-painted map of the world was produced in Dieppe for the King of France, and celebrates the recent discoveries of Jacques Cartier on the north-east coast of America. But it is more than simply a map of French glory for its ruler: it is a visual encyclopaedia of the legends, natural history and ethnography of the world. With it, the King could learn and display his worldly knowledge. The map was meant to be viewed on a table, and so the information to the top of the map appears upside-down to the modern viewer. It is the most extravagant of all geographical indexesPhotograph: The British Library

John Darby, Plan of the Parish of Smallburgh, 1582, 103 x 179cm, manuscript on vellum:

A map of a landed estate might be produced to enable the owner to glory in and impress visitors with the extent of his property, but it might also contain subtle references to the owner’s private life. This estate map is one of the earliest, largest and most beautiful to have survived. It was made for Sir Philip Parker and contains a number of reminders of the countryside, including a dog chasing some ducks and references to shooting. The mapmaker has painted a Brueghel-esque figure of a man with a monkey on his back, possibly a reference to Sir Philip’s recently deceased, traitorous half-brother, Lord MorleyPhotograph: The British Library

This figure of a man with a monkey on his back on John Darby's Plan of the Parish of Smallburgh, 1582, is possibly a reference to Sir Philip’s deceased, traitorous half-brother, Lord MorleyPhotograph: The British Library

The tale of Pomerania, a small land on the Baltic coast of Northern Europe, is a tragic one. Threatened on all sides by nations keen to capitalise on her strategic importance, and with a ruling dynasty that was soon to die out, in 1610 there seemed no alternative but to give up gracefully. Instead, it made a map. Based on an original survey, engraved in baroque splendour by a Dutch artist on twelve sheets, the map measures over two metres wide, with decorative flourishes, views of towns, and portraits of Duke Philip II and his soon-to-be extinct family line. This map rages against the approaching darknessPhotograph: The British Library

This, the largest book in the world at almost 6ft, was presented by the Amsterdam merchant Johannes Klencke to Charles II of England on his restoration to the throne in 1660. It was certainly a gift fit for a king, with thirty-seven large wall maps in an ornate binding, which bears symbols of the kingdoms of Great Britain and France, which the English monarch still claimed. The maps are either unique, or known in only a handful of copies. Together they were adjudged to encapsulate all knowledgePhotograph: The British Library

Venice is captured in the monumental, yet strangely familiar map of the city by Jacopo de’ Barbari. The minutely observed city republic is shown dominated by the god of trade, the dramatic viewpoint and accomplished woodcut technique recommends the map as a work of art, while its size, at almost 3m wide, makes it the largest woodcut map ever to have been produced. It was so large, in fact, that a special mill to manufacture paper of the necessary size had to be constructed. By manipulating its image through artwork such as this, the Venetian state was able to surround itself with a timeless and attractive mythology that demanded admiration from its allies and enemiesPhotograph: The British Library

The world map by Fra Mauro, a Vanetian monk, is considered by many to be the first 'modern’ world map, since it showed Portuguese discoveries in Africa and it questioned the geography of many medieval and classical sources. What it represented was the grandeur of Venice and the cultural predominance of Venetians, such as Marco Polo on the world stage. The map’s fame spread far afield. In 1804, the artist William Frazer was commissioned by the British East India Company to make a copy, which he did faithfully, and with extraordinary skill and detail. It portrayed Britain’s Asian empire as the heir to the Portuguese Empire of the 15th century, a powerful patriotic symbol over 2m in diameterPhotograph: The British Library

This, the earliest Chinese globe, was constructed by leading Jesuits for the Chinese Ming rulers, and is believed to have come from an Imperial palace near Beijing. In the collections of western monarchs it would have appeared an exotic and unusual object. But in China too, it would have been very unusual, since it contained western concepts of geography quite at variance with the China-centric nature of contemporary cartography. In its treatment of eclipses and meridians, however, the globe draws on ideas developed in China far earlier than in the westPhotograph: The British Library